Different Types of Stage Lighting Fixtures and Lighting Effects If you attend theatre or live shows regularly then it is likely that you are already aware of the extreme significance of lighting when it comes to any show or play conducted on the stage. The reason why lighting is so important on the stage is that it serves a variety of purposes including basic illumination to the more elaborate mood of the scene. Apart from this, there are a couple of other uses as well for which stage lighting is known for, namely the depiction of the fictional time and creating a sense of focus for the audience. These lighting effects are achieved through a wide variety of lighting fixtures. Consider the following:

1. Par cans: The simplest form of stage lighting effects is achieved with the help of lighting fixtures known as parcans. Parcans create beam lights and are very prominent with traveling shows or shows that do not have enough funding. The name parcan is a combination of two things. The first is the Parabolic Aluminized Reflector lamp and the other is its casing which has a can like appearance.

2. Scoops: Scoops are lighting fixtures that are used when simple brightening is required as a part of the lighting effects. Scoops are essentially flood lights that brighten up a large area. These can usually be seen in big sports grounds and in functions where billboards or big banners need to be highlighted.

3. Fresnels: Fresnels are lighting fixtures that are mainly used for theatrical purposes. These lighting fixtures are soft edged flood lights that create a sense of backlighting on the stage. The lighting effects created by Fresnels are color washes. Another way to describe the effect created by Fresnels is that they blanket an area with single colored lighting.

4. Followspot: Followspot lighting fixtures, as is obvious, are fixtures that create a spot of light that follows a certain individual on the stage. Followspots are a major part of creating emphasis in the play or guiding the focus of the audience towards a certain direction. Followspot lighting fixtures can be seen in any award ceremony where the award winner is followed by a spot of light from his chair to the dais.

5. Ellipsoidal: Ellipsoidal lighting fixtures are more advanced and can create a wide variety of lighting effects singlehandedly. The variety in lighting effects produced by ellipsoidal lighting fixtures is achieved on the basis of technical changes from the point of origin. Some of these changes are variable focus length, change in the quality of edges i.e. soft or sharp and even the modification of the shape and size of the final spot of light. Ellipsoidal lighting fixtures and the lighting effects produced by them are crucial for most theatres, which is why these lights are considered to be the most dominant of the lot. These are the primary lighting fixtures and lighting effects that are used on stage. It is also worth mentioning that lighting effects with color can be achieved with the help of gels being placed on any of the aforementioned devices.